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Chelsea midfielder Tiémoué Bakayoko had a rare off day this weekend as Milan edged out Sassuolo, 1-0, (for whom Jeremie Boga put in an impressive shift), but he remains a rock in the AC Milan midfield, playing week in and out and putting in key performances.
Maybe for the Chievo game, Rino could make some changes to the lineup considering we have the derby coming up
— Christian Lumia (@CLumia) March 4, 2019
Maybe start Cutrone and Conti, perhaps give Bakayoko or Paqueta a rest since they looked exhausted against Sassuolo, just some thoughts
At the start of the season, many, including Milan head Gennaro Gattuso had questioned the wisdom of bringing in the 24-year-old Chelsea flop; now the narrative is all about Milan trying to scrape together the €35 million required to active the buyout clause in his loan at the end of the season. Due to their continuing financial difficulties, that’s not an easy or straightforward task — recent rumors had claimed that they’re hoping to negotiate an unlikely discount, even.
As pointed out by La Gazzetta dello Sport, another helpful factor is the upcoming transfer of Manuel Locatelli to Sassuolo, at an already agreed upon price of €12 million. Of course, that only gets Milan a third of the way, but it’s a good start.
Per previous stories, the rest of it will likely come from expected European revenue — that’s why Milan qualifying for the Champions League is a necessary requirement for the move. On that front, things are looking good. The Rossoneri are up to third in the table after a fourth win on the bounce this weekend, one point ahead of local rivals Inter.
Bakayoko wants to stay and they want him to stay, so hopefully this works out well for all involved.